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FOR THE RECORD
May 03, 2004
RecoveringFrom an inflamed heart and a lung infection, Diego Maradona, who in 2000 was voted by fans as the best soccer player of the 20th century. The 43-year-old former midfielder, who is best known for leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup championship, was admitted to the Suizo-Argentino Clinic in Buenos Aires on April 18 and has been in and out of a medically induced coma. Despite his repeated suspensions for failing drug tests and his brushes with the law (for tax fraud, paternity suits and firing a gun at journalists), Argentines worship him as a national hero. Outside the clinic hundreds of fans, some of whom have been there for days, have erected a shrine of votive candles and posters in the blue and gold colors of Maradona's beloved Boca Juniors club. Doctors say his condition remains guarded and progress is expected to be "slow and laborious."
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May 03, 2004

For The Record

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Recovering
From an inflamed heart and a lung infection, Diego Maradona, who in 2000 was voted by fans as the best soccer player of the 20th century. The 43-year-old former midfielder, who is best known for leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup championship, was admitted to the Suizo-Argentino Clinic in Buenos Aires on April 18 and has been in and out of a medically induced coma. Despite his repeated suspensions for failing drug tests and his brushes with the law (for tax fraud, paternity suits and firing a gun at journalists), Argentines worship him as a national hero. Outside the clinic hundreds of fans, some of whom have been there for days, have erected a shrine of votive candles and posters in the blue and gold colors of Maradona's beloved Boca Juniors club. Doctors say his condition remains guarded and progress is expected to be "slow and laborious."

Retired
After a career in which he won three Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals, New Jersey Devils center Igor Larionov, 43. Touted as the Russian Wayne Gretzky early in his career, Larionov played eight seasons for the Red Army team and led the Soviet Union to Olympic gold in 1984 and '88. The visionary, cerebral center—he wore wire-rimmed glasses and was known as the Professor—joined the Canucks in 1989 but didn't flourish in the NHL until Detroit acquired him early in the 1995-96 season. Larionov became part of the NHL's first all-Russian shift and helped the Red Wings win the Cup in 1997, '98 and 2002. Before hanging up his skates for good and focusing on his business ventures, which include a wine label, he will play in one last game, an exhibition in Moscow this December. "It will be my first time coming back to play for the Russians," he said. "It will be a chance to say goodbye."

Charged
With a felony gambling violation for allegedly running a high-stakes card game out of his house, Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller. (He denies the charge.) Police say Fuller, 33, who is due to make $1 million this season, allegedly took 10% of the pots, which sometimes reached $100,000. Fuller and six others were arrested after an undercover agent infiltrated the game at the player's Tallahassee, Fla., home—the site of a gun battle in January in which 20 shots were fired between Fuller and an intruder who broke up what Fuller at that time reportedly told police was a friendly card game.

Died
Of a gunshot wound to the throat, Nebraska soccer co-captain Jenna Cooper, 21. Early on Sunday two men got into an argument at a barbecue Cooper threw at her house following the conclusion of the Huskers' spring schedule, and one fired a shot that ricocheted and struck Cooper, who died 17 hours later. Cooper, a junior mechanical engineering major from Louisville, played on both the U.S. under-20 and under-21 national teams. "She was who you'd want your kid to grow up to be," Nebraska coach John Walker said.

Sued
By her parents, Anna Kournikova. Alla and Sergei Kournikova, who are separated, filed suit last week to partition a seven-bedroom Miami Beach mansion that Anna, 22, bought for $5 million in 2000—meaning it would be sold, with each party receiving one third of the proceeds. (All three names are on the deed, but Anna quickly countersued to have her parents removed.) Howard Rudolph, the parents' lawyer, says they should be rewarded for helping Anna become a professional—albeit winless—tennis star. "These are good parents who gave up a tremendous amount for her," he says. "She would not be where she is without her parents."

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